An Interview with Abe Pollack, Bassist of Ravens & Chimes
Ravens & Chimes [myspace] have been artist of the day on Spin, and you've heard them on John in the Morning. Their new album, Reichenbach Falls, "dropped" last month. They are hot.
Two Ravens, Abe Pollack and Brittany Anjou, are Seattle types. Pollack went to U Prep, Anjou's a Roosevelt grad. Word! We emailed Pollack some questions, he emailed back answers.
1) How did you end up in Brooklyn?
I moved to New York six years ago for college [NYU!--ed] and stuck around after I graduated. Brooklyn was a nice place to settle because all the musicians here have beards and I can still stream KEXP thanks to the powers of the Internet. I think I stuck around after college because I like getting asked about growing up in Seattle; "Does it rain a lot?" and "do you watch Frasier?" are always my favorites.
2) Did you play much around Seattle when you were growing up here?
We didn't have the Vera Project growing up, so there weren't actually that many opportunities for all-ages music. The Redmond Firehouse was pretty fun but the Eastside is also very inaccessible when you're too young to drive. Mostly because of Bumbershoot and KEXP (when it was still an on-campus station) I somehow managed to find a way to hear good Seattle bands like the Murder City Devils and all the Riot Grrrl groups. One of my first concert memories was watching L7 with my dad at the Mercer Rock Arena.
3) You guys just released an album and are getting a ton of press--what does that mean for you? Are you able to quit your job, or what?
It's really exciting to see that other people are listening to the music we make and that they actually like it! I actually quit my office job last summer but not because of Ravens. I opened up an analog studio in New York. I've been spending most of my time fixing the takeup reel on my tape machine and acoustically treating my kitchen.
It's crazy because people see these great reviews and hear their favorite bands on all kinds of radio stations but don't realize that health insurance companies don't accept pull quotes as co-pays. A lot of great bands out there have to keep their day jobs in order to pay for the opportunity to make music. I mean, I just found out that Doug Marsch still works at Jiffy Lube!
4) How'd you get hooked up with the Ravens & Chimes people?
We were all pretty tight during college. We had all played in other bands together, so it was pretty easy for us find our niche in Ravens. The first gig we had together was at a rooftop party hosted by this friend of the band, also from Seattle. Last winter I was at my old roommate's house in Fremont and everyone was talking about an actor from LA who was about to show up. It turned out to be the same guy from the rooftop party. I guess Seattle really is a small town.
5) When's the band coming to Seattle?
Oh man, we would love to come out to Seattle again - we played at the Crocodile last spring and it was great fun. If someone can cover our plane tickets we'll leave this afternoon. I need to take my bandmates to Dick's after a gig.
Photo of Abe Pollack by Elizabeth Perrin
